new roo's killed my dela-horn.

[monster1]

got two "millie" bantem roos yesterday. my coop didn't have anything in it until yesterday when i fox proofed the coop. i put four month and two month old pullets in the coop along with the two millie roo's. everyone was getting along well with no fighing, but last night the only dela-horn pullet i had was killed. it was the "odd man out" due to that it was the only white(different) chicken in the coop. all the rest are barred rocks and one americana. i checked on them today and they are all fine and getting along, busy scratching through the grass clippings that i put down for them. i figured that since non of the birds were acustom to their new home that they would all be at the same advantage. do you think that the roo's killed the dela-horn due to it being so different than the rest of the birds?

 

[debilorrah]

I am so sorry about your baby!!!! I really am not sure what the answer is.... was there evidence on the roo that one of them did it?

 

[silkiechicken]

If they had enough space...I don't think it was the roos. What was the evidence? How old was she? Sometimes point of lay birds or birds starting to lay again do just die b/c of internal issues. Did you take a peek inside or observe for bite/injuries.

 

[Royicus]

Quote:
I have to agree here. I think it is pretty unlikely that a rooster killed your hen. Sometimes hens just die. We've pulled a few dead hens out of their homes that died for unknown reasons in the past. It happens, unfortunately.

 

[monster1]

no. she was definetly killed by one of the birds. there were feathers scattered throughout the coop. the smaller pullets are about four times smaller than the larger birds, so i don't see them doing it. the larger pullets were housed with the dela-horn pullet in a hutch since they were chicks. i really don't see them doing it either. the only logical explaination would be the roo's. since my last post i saw one of them on top of the larger barred rock biting onto the back of her neck. figure they are establishing a pecking order or something. they are all doing well though.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Quote:
It was most likely that your roosters were trying to mount your hens too, or show them who's boss. What other signs did you see? Any body marks or wounds on her? Your coop/run may not have been predator proof after all. Do you have weasels in your area? They can fit through the smallest gap and kill a full grown chicken.

 

[monster1]

nope, no weasels! we are fortunate to only have the occasional fox or dog to deal with. i know we have possums around, but they are scarce. and i haven't seen any. my neigbor saw skunks in my yard years ago, but i never seen any either. yesterday i turned all the dirt around the coop. no fresh prints, or any holes in the coop. the culprit is IN the coop. call csi and detain any material witnesses to the incident!!!!!

just kidding. but the birds are all very happy right now and haven't had any problems since. knock on wood. i think that the dela-horn was singled out because of her white feathering.

 

[dancingbear]

Feathers all around may not really mean much. If she died of some injury, like colliding head first with a wall or something when jumping off a roost, for example, it's possible the pullet convulsed and flapped all over before dying. It would be really unusual for a roo to kill a pullet. I've had roosters beat each other up, and have had a few that were rough or mean to hens, but in over 15 years of keeping chickens, I've never had a hen or pullet killed by a roo.

Could have been a squabble over roost space. They knock each other off all the time, and there is much flapping. Sometimes feathers fly, especially at this time of year, when many birds are in some stage of molting.

 

[jhm47]

If you saw a rooster on the back of a hen while biting at the back of her neck, you witnessed normal mating behavior.

I really doubt that a rooster killed your pullet. Could it have been a possum or raccoon? They are excellent climbers, and can get into places where foxes or other predators can't. And, weasels are quite widely distributed throughout the world. They leave few footprints that are hard to find. Good luck with your CSI!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

What did the body of the dead pullet look like? What injuries to the body did you see? Any? Or did she just lose feathers?